The Beaver Family Show
The Beaver Family Show is a American animated series on Disney XD. Created by Craig McCracken and Lauren Faust, and developed by Tom Ruegger, Sherri Stoner, Deanna Oliver and Doug Langdale, the show is co-produced by Amblin Television and Disney Television Animation. The series is structured as a variety show, with the main feature being the adventures of the title characters, the Beavers, which consists of George (the father), Margaret (the mother) and Logan & Lola (the two twins), and their friends, Thaddeus, a crazy cat obsessive with driving cars (but he usually crashing them in the process), Mr. Bear, a serious bear and his two children, Jack & Jill, and Joe, a dim-witted, but good-natured, dog. The main adversaries in most of their adventures are the Weasel Gang led by the villainous Winkie Weasel and his dim-witted brother Thomas. Supporting segments include ''Spy Squirrels (a family of super spy squirrels), Inspector Bones (a bumbling French police inspector), Honest John (a Top Cat-based segment starring the titular fox con artist from Pinocchio) and Dick Rangers (a idiotic intergalactic crimefighter and his team), among others. The show is notable for being one of Disney XD's most successful shows, and one of the most long-running series in the TV animation history, along with The Flintstones, The Simpsons, SpongeBob SquarePants and South Park. Premise Setting and characters Dick Rangers *'''Richard "Dick" Rangers (Age: 30) - Earthworm Jim expy. Dick can be a bit naive, is somewhat a little silly and rarely thinks before rushing into battle, but on occasions can be very cunning. Dick is also very gullible, even trusting villains in not-so-convincing disguises. His motto is "When all else fails, start blasting!" Dick has a rather large romantic infatuation with Rachael (an expy on Princess What's-Her-Name, portrayed by Kath Soucie), which usually confuses her, but he never falters in his resolve. Dick also appears to be childish, enjoying pop-up books, snow globes, and other childish things. His "Groovy!" catchphrase is reminescent to that of Earthworm Jim. Dick has a tendency to use big words and long drawn-out phrases. It is not uncommon for him to yell something like "We are all doomed! From the Middle English meaning 'condemned to ruination or death'! DOOOOMED!!" or "By the name of the Galactic Lord, whose mighty bristles strike the hammer-blows of justice". His battle cry is "Eat hot plasma, (persons or things in question)!", which he usually follows up by laughing maniacally. This too can become long and drawn-out with phrases like "Eat hot plasma, everyone in the vicinity!" or "Eat hot plasma, evil bounty hunter-suited doofus!". He is portrayed by Dan Castellaneta. *'Cadet Freddy Burns (Age: 14) '- Peter Puppy expy, minus the monster transformation. He is Dick Rangers' main sidekick. Freddy is quite timid by nature. He can often be heard chanting to himself, "I must not fear, fear is the mind killer, fear is the little death that brings total oblivion" (a modified litany against fear, from Frank Herbert's Dune series). Despite his cowardice, Freddy is always willing to accompany Dick on his adventures, acting as Dick's consultant when Dick goes astray, as well as providing him with moral support. Whilst Freddy does have a kind of hero worship for Dick, he does often point out certain inconsistencies of Dick's, like when Dick called Freddy a kettledrum, which Freddy takes as an insult on his weight. This invariably makes Dick say, "Don't question me" in a threatening tone of voice. Freddy is very artistic and has dabbled in many different forms of expression such as interpretive dance, gourmet cooking, and play acting. He is also fond of professional wrestling, likes watching animated WB shows such as "Tiny Toons Adventures", "Animaniacs", and "Pinky and the Brain", and can study math and science. Like Peter Puppy, Freddy enjoyed eating haggis until he discovered its ingredients and method of preparation. As a result, his greatest fear is a Scottish chef and he now cannot eat haggis without getting sick, though he has been tricked into eating it on numerous occasions. He is portrayed by Jeff Glen Bennett. *'Snott' - I couldn't think of an expy of him, so I left him out just in case. Like his EWJ cartoon self, Snott had much more personality, and appeared always incredibly happy, even smiling inanely during inappropriate or dire situations. Snott cannot speak any human languages, and communicates through mere slurps and gurgles using his mouth. However, Dick and Freddy can understand Snott's "speech", indicating further intelligence in Snott; although only his companions can understand him. Snott's trademark is being able to express an extremely long comment regarding the situation in only a couple of short slurps, after which Dick or Freddy will agree, repeating after him. His vocal effects are provided by John Kassir. *'Rachael Esther Athens' (voiced by Kath Soucie) - Princess What's-Her-Name expy. Dick's love interest in the series. She is a rebellious warrior against the evil Queen of the Aliens. Throughout the segment, her relationship with Dick was more or less a professional one. Dick appeared to be harboring the delusion that they were boyfriend and girlfriend, although Rachael appeared to be oblivious to his advances. A running gag throughout most of the segment was that whenever any character asked what Dick meant by "relationship", Dick would give a hearty, if condescending laugh. She was also rather dismissive of her friends behaviors in general, noting in one episode that it is revealed where the three get on her nerves sometimes. However, during the second season Rachael did appear to soften to Dick; she was apparently not above being wooed in one episode by Anti-Dick, who is a more pragmatic version of his good counterpart. Supporting features The'' Beaver Family'' shorts serve as "bookends" for supporting features, including: *'''''Spy Squirrels - A family of super spy squirrels who fight aganist crime and villains. *''Inspector Bones'' - A hound detective unsuccessfully chases after criminals. Inspired by The Inspector. *''Honest John'' - Starring the con-man fox from Pinocchio, which he is a single father and leader of a gang, being usually chased by two police officers, Officer Dog and Sgt. Cat. *''Dick Rangers'' - An intergalactic crimefighter who faces any villians in the 24th and 1/2 century. Inspired by Duck Dodgers and the Earthworm Jim cartoon series. *''Manuela Mouse'' - A mouse who outsmart cats in a Tweety and Sylvester-style manner. *''Fractured Scary Tales'' - A animal-starring retelling of horror stories and films, but with altered storylines and modernized for humorous effect. Loosely based on the Fractured Fairy Tales/''Aseop and Son'' skits from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. *''Roxie ''- A female raccoon who is willing to become a singer at a nightclub. *''Kevin, Ricky and Nick ''- The misadventures of three 23-year old best friends, a polar bear, a penguin and a seal in Antartic City. *''Satan of the Underworld'' - A crazy red goat named Satan runs the underworld with his little devil henchmen. *''The Rockstar Fox'' - A 17-year old red fox named Deacon is willing to play an electric guitar and become a rockstar. *''Blake and Jake'' - A white lamb named Jake and his older black lamb brother Blake live together on a farm. Blake will always be there for his little brother and is an expert at outsmarting a wolf who is trying to capture the sheep and cook them into lamb chops. *(reserved for GrishamAnimationStudios102) *''Thaddeus' Poetry Corner'' - Features the proud and stupid cat reciting poems and children nursery rhymes, which some characters of The Beaver Family act out the characters in the poems. *''Disney Labs'' - Featuring the inventive scientist, Ludwig Von Drake. Inspired by the Muppet Labs segment of The Muppet Show. Production Writers Writers for the show includes Craig McCracken, Lauren Faust, Sherri Stoner, Deanna Oliver, Amy Keating Rogers, Rob Renzetti, Doug Langdale, Steve Roberts, Thomas Hart, John Loy, Jim Peterson, John Behnke, Rob Humphrey, Henry Gilroy, Tom Ruegger, and Paul Rugg. Animation This show (unlike Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and Wander Over Yonder, both of which are animated in Adobe Flash) is animated traditionally at overseas animation studios Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS Entertainment), Wang Film Productions, and Rough Draft Studios. The show had a higher production value than most standard television animation. It has a digital cel count that was more than double that of most television animation. The series has about 25,000 digital drawings per episode instead of the standard 10,000, making it unique in that characters move more fluidly. Music The series' soundtrack is composed by veteran composer Walter Murphy, better known by his work on Family Guy and American Dad!, being strongly influenced by Disney's classic shorts music. Episodes See List of The Beaver Family Show episodes Voice Cast *Billy West as George Beaver and Nick Seal *Jennifer Hale as Margaret Beaver and Manuela Mouse *Nancy Cartwright as Logan Beaver *Kath Soucie as Lola Beaver, Penny Foulfellow, and Rachael *Frank Welker as J. Thaddeus Cat, Joe Dog, Thomas Weasel, Gideon Cat and Ricky Penguin **Frank also voices guest character Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. *Kevin Michael Richardson as Mr. Bear *Tara Strong as Jack and Jill Bear, Phillip Foulfellow and Agent Sally Squirrel *Jim Cummings as Winkie Weasel and Deacon Fox **Jim also voices guest characters Pete, Monterey Jack and Darwking Duck *Corey Burton as Honest John Foulfellow **Corey also voices guest characters Dale and Ludwig Von Drake *Tom Kenny as Michael Mouse and Dick Rangers segments narrator *Grey DeLisle as Lucy Woodpecker *Candi Milo as Lassie Hound **Candi also voices guest character Gosalyn Mallard (replacing the late Christine Canavaugh) *Debi Derryberry as Molly Mouse *Tom Kane as the Mayor of Woodland Creatures *Bernadette Peters as Roxie *Rob Paulsen as Sgt. Cat **Rob also voices guest characters Gladstone Gander and José Carioca *Tress MacNeille as Agent Chuck Squirrel **Tress also voices guest characters Daisy Duck, Chip and Gadget Hackwrench *Jess Harnell as Agent John Squirrel and Officer Dog *Miriam Flynn as Agent Lori Squirrel *Maurice LaMarche as The Chief and Jake Lamb **Maurice also voices guest character Mortimer Mouse *Charlie Adler as Inspector Bones *John Stocker as Commisoner Wolfou *Dan Castellaneta as Richard "Dick" Rangers *Jeff Bennett as Cadet Freddy Burns *John Kassir as Snott **John also voices guest character Scrooge McDuck (replacing the late Alan Young) *Keith Ferguson as Lord Hater *Roger Craig Smith as Kevin J. Bear *Brad Garrett as Satan *Patton Oswalt as Blake Lamb Additional voices *Phil LaMarr *Tabitha St. Germain *Andrea Libman *Andrea Martin *E.G. Daily *Hynden Walch *Russi Taylor **Russi also voices guest characters Minnie Mouse, Huey, Dewey, Louie and Webby Wanderquack *Gilbert Gottfried *Jennifer Martin *Eddie Deezen *Julie Kavner *Cree Summer *Sam Marin Guest stars *Bret Iwan as Mickey Mouse *Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck *Bill Farmer as Goofy, Horace Horsecollar and Pluto *Jason Marsden as Max Goof *April Winchell as Clarabelle Cow *Audrey Wasilewski as Ortensia *Terry McGovern as Lunchpad McQuack *Chris Edgerly as Gyro Gearloose *Carlos Alazraqui as Panchito Pistoles Reception The Dick Rangers segments on the show received generally positive reviews, in which it was famous for taking inspiration of the Earthworm Jim cartoon series and Duck Dodgers and combining the two into something new, fresh and creative. The other segments have generally weakened, however, which was right after the second season and yet they still didn't have the spark they once had during their beginnings. Trivia *This is the second Disney XD show created by Craig McCracken, with the first being Wander Over Yonder. *This is the first Disney XD show to be produced in collaboration with Amblin Entertainment. *Pop culture references are mostly borrowed from Tiny Toons Adventures and Animaniacs. *The Dick Rangers segments were so popular that they've gotten their own spin-off series, without any mentions of The Beaver Family Show. Gallery The Beaver Family the_beaver_family.png Kevin, Ricky, and Nick kevin_j_bear.png|Kevin J. Bear. ricky_penguin.png|Ricky Penguin. nick_seal.png|Nick Seal. Blake and Jake blake_and_jake_sheep.png|Blake and Jake Lamb. Dick Rangers Dick rangers intergalactic hero squad.png|Dick Rangers with his sidekicks, Freddy Burns and Snott. rachael_esther_athens.png|Rachael, Dick's love interest. Other Characters the_rimshot_lion.png|The Rimshot Lion Category:Disney shows Category:Disney XD Category:Amblin Television Category:Disney Television Animation Category:Variety shows Category:Sketch Comedies Category:Slapstick Category:Comedy Category:Craig McCracken Category:Lauren Faust Category:Animated Series Category:Long-running Category:Family Category:TV-PG